Sweets with twist surface in Iowa City

You are here

A variety of desserts are displayed inside Cliche Pattisserie on South Linn Street in Iowa City on Monday, July 11, 2016. The new Chinese bakery features items with French inspirations. (The Daily Iowan/Brooklynn Kascel)

Two recent University of Iowa graduates are introducing Iowa City to China, Germany, Switzerland, and France through sweets.

A new bakery, Cliché Patisserie, 341 S. Linn St., aims to spice up local dessert options and bring healthier food with tasty options.

“First of all, I want this to be a place to have good food,” co-owner Zoey Huang said. “[But] we’re actually combining art and food.”

Huang, who graduated in May, teamed up with former classmate Leo Jiang to start the bakery. The two prepared for nearly a year before opening the establishment in May.

“I like to eat dessert,” Jiang said. “But I feel American things are too sweet. Too much sugar is not healthy … I want to have a bakery that is not as sweet.”

To make desserts customers will enjoy without pumping in the sugar, Cliché Patisserie uses natural sweeteners such as different types of teas, grains, and milks, depending on the dessert.

Huang and Jiang have several part-time student employees to help serve food and run the cash register. They also hired a manager, another former classmate.

“When I saw the help-wanted sign, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, how convenient would that be,’ ” said manager Emanuella Israel.

The workers, who are also friends, have been rotating pastry selections on approximately two-week shifts. They said they have focused on customer feedback so they can decide which desserts to toss and what types of desserts to bring in to the store.

So far, they think they have found a couple of unique deserts that are in for the long haul.

The workers at Cliché Patisserie said they not only want customer feedback on general dessert options, they also want to ensure they have viable pastries for the diverse people of Iowa City.

“We get a lot of people who are dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian,” Israel said. “It’s kind of my job to see ‘What can we bring in for you?’ … we’re very open to new things and open to what people want.”

Over the last couple of months, the store has seen slow growth because a majority of students are gone for the summer. Huang and Jiang said they want to throw another opening, which they will consider their grand opening, once students return for the fall semester.

“I want everybody to know they can shop here because there’s a new bakery here,” Jiang said. “My goal is … to have another shop somewhere else closer to the university.”